Tag Archives: world war II

Mitchell Flint, a World War II US fighter pilot who was one of the founding members of the Israeli Air Force, recently passed away. Flint was 94.

Flint was one of the founding members of “Machal,” a group of non-Israelis who fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He was one of the original members of the Israeli Air Force’s first fighter squadron and Read more

The Stars and Stripes published an AP story about Catherine Corpening receiving, after a 75-year absence, the World War II Bible her father had been issued:

When [her father] Ira Royster enlisted in the Army in September 1942, he received this book, a pocket-sized New Testament with an introduction by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Royster wrote his name in the Bible and, as did many other soldiers, probably placed it in his shirt pocket, where it offered a shield of protection for his heart should a bullet or a piece of shrapnel come flying his way.

It’s a poignant story for the 76-year old Corpening who barely knew her father.

The Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives has a display for chaplains from World War I and II, including a Bible given to a sailor on the USS Hornet two days before the carrier launched Doolittle’s Raid:

The US Army recently highlighted how Soldiers from the 27th Infantry Regiment continue to support the Holy Family Home out of Japan — a relationship that began during the American occupation at the end of World War II. As described by a unit commander,

“Today, as we begin the 59th visit of the children to Hawaii, we look forward on building on the tradition of love and friendship begun so many years ago,” said Lt. Col. Glen T. Helberg, commander, 2-27th Inf. Regt., 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.

Retired SSgt David Thatcher died yesterday in Montana. In 1942, Thatcher was a gunner on “The Ruptured Duck” — one of 16 B-25s that conducted what became known as the Doolittle Raid.

After his military career, Thatcher worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 30 years as a clerk and later a letter carrier. He retired in 1980. He stayed in contact with the surviving members of the Doolittle Raiders and attended nearly every reunion the group held through the Final Toast in November 2013.

Retired LtCol Richard “Dick” Cole, Doolittle’s co-pilot, is the last Read more

A local article recalls the story of then-Army Lieutenant Henry Levine, a B-17 navigator who was shot down over Nazi Germany and captured in February 1944. While in Stalag Luft 1,

he led secret Jewish religious services for fellow POWs, right under the noses of their Nazi captors.

“Many people risk their lives to pray to their god,” his son Ron Levine, of Cedar Rapids, says. “He was one of them.”

The article reveals the Nazis technically permitted “Jewish church” for appearances, though actual Jewish rites weren’t permitted. As a result, with the assistance of non-Jewish POWs, Levine led Read more

LtCol Robert Hite, one of the last three living Doolittle Raiders, died Sunday at the age of 95. Hite was a POW of the Japanese after the raid for the remainder of the war, until his camp was liberated three years later in 1945.